Apparatus for connecting a spreader assembly to a vehicle lift

ABSTRACT

A connecting apparatus having male members mounted on a standard spreader assembly, having female members mounted on a lift vehicle for self-aligning engagement with the male members, and having securing members for fixedly attaching the male members to the female members. A lift vehicle equipped with such female members is capable of quick, secure, and self-aligning attachment to various sizes of spreader assemblies equipped with such male members.

United States Patent [191 Snelling, Jr.

1 APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING A SPREADER ASSEMBLY TO A VEHICLE LIFT [75] Inventor: Murdock M. Snelling, Jr.,

Louisville, Miss.

[73] Assignee: Taylor Machine Works, Louisville,

Miss.

[22] Filed: May 21, 1973 [21] Appl. N0.: 362,046

[52] 11.5. C1 214/621, 294/81 SF [51] lint. Cl B661 9/12 [58] Field of Search 214/620, 621, 394;

294/67 R, 67 B, 67 BB, 67 BC, 67 DA, 81 SF, 83 R; 280/515 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,070,586 2/1937 Fitch r 294/67 DA 2,522,215 9/1950 Du Shane 280/515 2,954,997 10/1960 Mescher et al. 294/110 R 3,007,718 11/1961 Backof 280/515 Mar.11, 1975 3,416,832 12/1968 Rice 294/82 R 3,445,133 5/1969 Reischl 294/83 R 3,633,777 1/1972 Snelling et a1... 214/621 3,764,032 10/1973 Ward 214/621 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,074,055 6/1967 Great Britain 280/515 Primary ExaminerRobert J. Spar Assistant Examiner,L. J. Paperner Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John R. Walker, 111

[571 ABSTRACT A connecting apparatus having male members mounted on a standard spreader assembly, having female members mounted on a lift vehicle for selfaligning engagement with the male members, and having securing members for fixedly attaching the male members to the female members. A lift vehicle equipped with such female members is capable of quick, secure, and self-aligning attachment to various sizes of spreader assemblies equipped with such'male members.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING A SPREADER ASSEMBLY TO A VEHICLE LIFT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to lift vehicles and, more specifically, to an apparatus for removably connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle.

2. Description of the Prior Art The following U.S. Patents relate to the field of vehicle lifts and spreader assemblies: Hindin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,729; Forry et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,563; Allegri et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,002; Shaffer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,269; Kinross, U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,540; Whiteman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,053; Snelling et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,777; Downey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,732; and Rumell, U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,933. None of the above references disclose or suggest the present invention.

It should be pointed out that the Downey and Rumell references disclose lift vehicles that are capable of connection to spreader assemblies by means of standard fork tines mounted on the lift vehicle and tine-engaging channels provided in the spreader assemblies. Such an arrangement is disadvantageous in that:

1. Movement of the spreader assembly relative to the lift vehicle is highly restricted.

2. It is expensive, that is, existing spreader assemblies having the common lug attachments such as those in the Snelling et al reference would require extensive modifications to be used in such an arrangement, and

3. Close alignment of the fork tines and the tineengaging channels is necessary for connection of the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 'The present invention is directed towards overcoming the problems and disadvantages in previous apparatuses for removably connecting a spreader assembly or the like to a lift vehicle. The concept of the present invention is to provide a self-aligning connecting apparatus comprising male members mounted on the upper surface of a spreader assembly, funnel-shaped female members mounted on the lower surface of a frame member of a vehicle lift, and securing members for fixedly attaching the male members to the female members while allowing movement of the male members in the female members. Such movement of the male members in the female members permits relative movement between the spreader assembly and the lift vehicle. The funnel-shaped female members permit connection of the spreader assembly and the lift vehicle without requiring critical alignment of the male and female members.

Such an apparatus allows a spreader assembly to be BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the present invention with some parts removed for clarity showing it connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the present invention with some parts removed for clarity and'showing it connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of a portion of FIG. 2 showing the movement of the spreader assembly allowed by the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view of a portion of FIG. 1 with the spreader assembly and the lift vehicle in a disconnected position.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the present invention as taken on line V-V of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the present invention as taken on line VI-VI of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus 11 of the present invention for removably connecting a spreader assembly 13 to a lift vehicle 15 comprises in general pilot means 17 mounted on the spreader assembly 13, connecting means 19 mounted from the vehicle lift 15, and securing means 21 for fixedly connecting the pilot means 17 to the connecting means 19.

The spreader assembly 13 is of the common type of cargo container handling frame such as disclosed in the Snelling et al reference, U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,777 for handling standard sizes of cargo containers C. The lift vehicle 15 is of the common type of forklift vehicle such as disclosed in the Snelling et al. reference.

The lift vehicle 15 includes a normally vertical boom 23, a load carriage 25 movably mounted on the boom 23, and a frame member 27 mounted on the carriage 25. The frame member 27 preferably includes normally vertical stanchions 29 and normally horizontal arm portions 31.

The connecting means 19 includes a pair of spacedapart, funnel-shaped female members 33 forwardly mounted on the arm means 31 of the frame member 27. In addition, the connecting means 19 includes a pair of spaced-apart, funnel-shaped female members 33 rearwardly mounted on the arm members 31. The pilot means 17 includes a pair of spaced-apart male members 35 forwardly mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly 13 and includes a pair of spaced-apart male members 35 rearwardly mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly 13. Each of the female members 33 includes a downwardly directed, funnel-shaped entrance opening 37 for receiving a male member 35 having a stop means 38 therein. It should be noted that the lower surface of the arm members 31 preferably acts as the stop means 38.

Each of the female members 33 is preferably comprised of a pair of side members 39 attached to the arm. members 31 of the frame member 27. The pair of side members 39 are joined together by a pair of cross members 41. Each of the side members 39 and the cross members 41 is provided with an outwardly directed lower portion 43. Each of the side members 39 of the female members 33 includes a transverse hole 45. Each of the male members 35 includes a transverse hole 47. When the male members 35 are received in the opening 37 of the female members 33 and abut against the stop means 38, the transverse holes 45, 47 are necessarily aligned. The securing means 21 includes primary pins 49 for passing through the transverse holes 45, 47 when the male members 35 are received in the opening 37 of the female members 33 thereby securing the male members 35 to the female members 33 and thus fixedly securing the spreader assembly 13 to the lift vehicle 15. In addition, each of the primary pins 49 preferably includes a transverse hole 51 for allowing a secondary pin 53 of the securing means 21 to pass therethrough thereby insuring that the primary pins 49 will not slip out of the transverse holes 45, 47 in the female members 33 and male members 35. A pin keeper bracket 55 is positioned on one side member 39 of each of the female members 33 over the transverse hole 45 in that side member 39 to hold the secondary pins 53 adjacent the female members 33 and thereby hold the primary pins 49 in place in the transverse holes 45, 47 when the secondary pins 53 are inserted into the transverse holes 51 in the primary pins 49. Each of the primary pins 49 includes a collar 57 to position it in the transverse holes 45, 47 in the female members 33 and male members 35 so that the transverse hole 51 in the primary pin 49 is below the pin keeper bracket 55. In addition, each of the primary pins 49 includes an alignment handle 59 that is parallel to the transverse hole 51 in each of the primary pins 49. The purpose of the alignment handle 59 is to allow alignment of the transverse holesSl in the primary pins 49 with the pin keeper brackets 55 so that the secondary pins 53 may beeasily inserted in the holes 51. The primary pins 49 and the secondary pins 53 are preferably attached to the female members 33 by chains or the like (not shown) to prevent their loss and to keep them in a handy place for securing the spreader assembly 13 to the lift vehicle 15.

The transverse holes 47 in the male members 35 are preferably elongated slots 61 allowing limited movement of the male members 35 in the female members 33, thereby allowing limited movement of the spreader assembly 13 relative to the lift vehicle 15. The spreader assembly 13, is thus, permitted some freedom to tilt so that out-of-level cargo containers C may be picked up (see FIG. 3). In addition, the pair of forwardly mounted female members 33 are preferably mounted to the arm members 31 by pivots 63 to allow pivotal movement of the forwardly mounted female members 33 to prevent binding when the spreader assembly tilts.

The operation of the apparatus 11 of the present invention is quite simple. After the female members 33 have been attached to a frame member 27 ofa lift vehicle and the male members 35 have been attached to a spreader assembly 13, the lift vehicle 15 is simply positioned with the frame member 27 over the spreader assembly 13 and with the female members 33 approximately aligned with the male members 35 on the spreader assembly 13. The load carriage 25 of the lift vehicle 15 is then activated to lower the frame member 27 so that the funnel-shaped entrance openings 37 of the female members 33 are positioned over the male members 35. The alignment of the female members 33 to the male members 35 is not highly critical since the funnel shape of the female members 33 will guide the male members 35 into the openings 37. The frame member 27 is lowered until the stop means 38 of the female members 33 contact the male members 35 thereby insuring that the transverse holes 45, 47 in the female members 33 and the male members 35 are aligned. Next, the primary pins 49 are passed through the transverse holes 45, 47 thereby fixedly attaching the spreader assembly 13 to the lift vehicle 15. The secondary pins 53 may-then be placed through the transverse holes 51 in the primary pins 49 thereby insuring that the primary pins 49 will not slip out of the transverse holes 45, 47. The spreader assembly 13 is then ready for use. To remove the spreader assembly 13 from the lift vehicle 15, the reverse of the abovementioned process is used. That is, the frame member 27 is lowered preferably until the male members 35 contact the stop means 38 of the female members 33 thereby insuring that tension is relieved from the primary pins 49 which then may be easily removed. The frame member 27 is then free to be raised from the spreader assembly 13.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is not to be so limited since changes and modifications may be made therein which are within the full intended scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for removably connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle including a normally vertical boom, a load carriage movably mounted on the boom, and a frame member mounted on the carriage having normally horizontal arm portions, said apparatus comprising:

a. pilot means mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly, said pilot means including a plurality of male members, each of said male members having an enlarged transverse hole therethrough;

b. connecting means mounted on the lower surface of the arm portions for self-aligning engagement with said pilot means to removably connect the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle, said connecting means including a plurality of female members for coacting with the plurality of said male members, each of said female members having a transverse hole therethrough; and

c. securing means for securely connecting said pilot means to said connecting means, said securing means including primary pins for passing through said holes in said male and female members thereby securing said male members to said female members when said male members are positioned in said female members while allowing limited movement of said male members.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said connecting means includes downwardly directed, funnel-shaped entrance openings for receiving said pilot means.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said female members includes a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members; and in which said male members includes a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart male members for coacting with said pair of forwardly mounted female members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart male members for coacting with said pair of rearwardly mounted female members.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which said funnel shaped female members include stop means for aligning said holes in said male members with said holes in said female members.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 in which each of said primary pins includes a transverse hole and said securing means includes secondary pins for passing through said holes in said primary pins thereby insuring that said primary pins will not slip out of said male and female members.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which said securing means includes secondary pin keeper brackets positioned on said female members above said transverse holes in said female members for holding said secondary pins adjacent said female members, in which said primary pins include collars for positioning said primary pins in said transverse holes in said male and female members so that said transverse holes in said primary pins are below said secondary pin keeper brackets, and in which said primary pins include alignment handles parallel to said transverse holes therein for aligning said transverse holes in said primary pins with said secondary pin keeper brackets.

7. An apparatus for removably connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle including anormally vertical boom, a load carriage movably mounted on the boom, and a frame member mounted on the carriage having normally horizontal arm portions, said apparatus comprising:

a. pilot means. mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly; said pilot means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart male members; each of said male members including a transverse hole therethrough, said holes in said male members comprising elongated slots;

b. connecting means mounted on the lower surface of the arm portions for self-aligning engagement with said pilot means to removably connect the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle; said connecting means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of forwardly mounted male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of rearwardly mounted male members; each of said female members including a transverse hole therethrough; said pair of forwardly mounted female members being pivotally mounted to the arm portions of the frame members; each of said female members including a downwardly directed, funnel-shaped entrance opening for receiving said male members; and

c. securing means for fixedly connecting said pilot means to said connecting means; said securing means including primary pins for passing through said holes in said male and female members thereby securing said male members to said female members when said male members are positioned in said female members, while allowing limited movement of said male members when said male members are secured to said female members by said primary pins.

8. An apparatus for removably connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle including a normally vertical boom, a load carriage movably mounted on the boom, and a frame member mounted on thecarriage having normally horizontal arm portions, said apparatus comprising:

a. pilot means mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly; said pilot means including a 6 pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart male members; each of said male members including a transverse hole therethrough;

b. connecting means mounted on the lower surface of the arm portions for self-aligning engagement with said pilot means to removably connect the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle; said connect ing means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of forwardly mounted male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of rearwardly mounted male members; each of said female members including a transverse hole therethrough for aligning with said holes in each of said male'members; each of said female members including a funnel-shaped entrance opening for receiving said male members and including stop means for aligning said holes in said male members with said holes in said female members; and

c. securing means for fixedly connecting said male members to said female members, said securing means including primary pins for passing through said holes in said male and female members thereby securing said male members to said female members when said male members are positioned in said female members.

9. The combination with a lift vehicle including a normally vertical boom, a load carriage movably mounted on the boom, and a frame member mounted on the carriage having normally horizontal arm portions and with a spreader assembly of an apparatus for removably connecting the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle, said apparatus comprising:

a. pilot means mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly; said pilot means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart male members; each of said male members including a transverse hole therethrough;

b. connecting means mounted on the lower surface of the arm portions removably engaging said pilot means to connect the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle; said connecting means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of forwardly mounted male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped fe male members for coacting with said pair of rearwardly mounted male members; each of said female members including a transverse hole therethrough aligned with said holes in each of said male members; each of said female members including a funnel-shaped entrance opening for receiving said male members and including stop means for aligning said holes in said male members with said holes in said female members; and

c. securing means fixedly connecting said male members to said female members, said securing means including primary pins passing through said aligned holes in said male and female members thereby securing said male members to said female members when said male members are positioned in said female members. 

1. An apparatus for removably connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle including a normally vertical boom, a load carriage movably mounted on the boom, and a frame member mounted on the carriage having normally horizontal arm portions, said apparatus comprising: a. pilot means mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly, said pilot means including a plurality of male members, each of said male members having an enlarged transverse hole therethrough; b. connecting means mounted on the lower surface of the arm portions for self-aligning engagement with said pilot means to removably connect the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle, said connecting means including a plurality of female members for coacting with the plurality of said male members, each of said female members having a transverse hole therethrough; and c. securing means for securely connecting said pilot means to said connecting means, said securing means including primary pins for passing through said holes in said male and female members thereby securing said male members to said female members when said male members are positioned in said female members while allowing limited movement of said male members.
 1. An apparatus for removably connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle including a normally vertical boom, a load carriage movably mounted on the boom, and a frame member mounted on the carriage having normally horizontal arm portions, said apparatus comprising: a. pilot means mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly, said pilot means including a plurality of male members, each of said male members having an enlarged transverse hole therethrough; b. connecting means mounted on the lower surface of the arm portions for self-aligning engagement with said pilot means to removably connect the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle, said connecting means including a plurality of female members for coacting with the plurality of said male members, each of said female members having a transverse hole therethrough; and c. securing means for securely connecting said pilot means to said connecting means, said securing means including primary pins for passing through said holes in said male and female members thereby securing said male members to said female members when said male members are positioned in said female members while allowing limited movement of said male members.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said connecting means includes downwardly directed, funnel-shaped entrance openings for receiving said pilot means.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said female members includes a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members; and in which said male members includes a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart male members for coacting with said pair of forwardly mounted female members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart male members for coacting with said pair of rearwardly mounted female members.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which said funnel shaped female members include stop means for aligning said holes in said male members with said holes in said female members.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 in which each of said primary pins includes a transverse hole and said securing means includes secondary pins for passing through said holes in said primary pins thereby insuring that said primary pins will not slip out of said male and female members.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which said securing means includes secondary pin keeper brackets positioned on said female members above said transverse holes in said female members for holding said secondary pins adjacent said female members, in which said primary pins include collars for positioning said primary pins in said transverse holes in said male and female members so that said transverse holes in said primary pins are below said secondary pin keeper brackets, and in which said primary pins include alignment handles parallel to said transverse holes therein for aligning said transverse holes in said primary pins with said secondary pin keeper brackets.
 7. An apparatus for removably connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle including a normally vertical boom, a load carriage movably mounted on the boom, and a frame member mounted on the carriage having normally horizontal arm portions, said apparatus comprising: a. pilot means mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly; said pilot means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart male members; each of said male members including a transverse hole therethrough, said holes in said male members comprising elongated slots; b. connecting means mounted on the lower surface of the arm portions for self-aligning engagement with said pilot means to removably connect the spreadEr assembly to the lift vehicle; said connecting means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of forwardly mounted male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of rearwardly mounted male members; each of said female members including a transverse hole therethrough; said pair of forwardly mounted female members being pivotally mounted to the arm portions of the frame members; each of said female member including a downwardly directed, funnel-shaped entrance opening for receiving said male members; and c. securing means for fixedly connecting said pilot means to said connecting means; said securing means including primary pins for passing through said holes in said male and female members thereby securing said male members to said female members when said male members are positioned in said female members, while allowing limited movement of said male members when said male members are secured to said female members by said primary pins.
 8. An apparatus for removably connecting a spreader assembly to a lift vehicle including a normally vertical boom, a load carriage movably mounted on the boom, and a frame member mounted on the carriage having normally horizontal arm portions, said apparatus comprising: a. pilot means mounted on the upper surface of the spreader assembly; said pilot means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart male members; each of said male members including a transverse hole therethrough; b. connecting means mounted on the lower surface of the arm portions for self-aligning engagement with said pilot means to removably connect the spreader assembly to the lift vehicle; said connecting means including a pair of forwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of forwardly mounted male members and a pair of rearwardly mounted, spaced apart, funnel-shaped female members for coacting with said pair of rearwardly mounted male members; each of said female members including a transverse hole therethrough for aligning with said holes in each of said male members; each of said female members including a funnel-shaped entrance opening for receiving said male members and including stop means for aligning said holes in said male members with said holes in said female members; and c. securing means for fixedly connecting said male members to said female members, said securing means including primary pins for passing through said holes in said male and female members thereby securing said male members to said female members when said male members are positioned in said female members. 